How to build a recruitment chatbot to engage with candidates

In the past year, you have probably heard about the phenomenon ‘The Great Resignation’. If you haven’t, it simply means that a lot of people are quitting their jobs. And it is increasingly difficult for companies to find fitting candidates. In the Netherlands, this translates to 133 vacancies open for 100 job seekers. In the USA, there are 200 vacancies for 100 job seekers.

As with everything in life, this whole phenomenon has its positives and negatives - depending on whom you ask. For us, recruiters, it means that it has been getting more difficult to hire talented people. We need to think of ways to engage better with potential employees and compel them to join us.

In our case, the solution is right on our doorstep. How about using Trengo’s chatbot to engage with our candidates… the moment they are on our career page? Doing that allows us to give the best possible experience to candidates - once they visit our career page. The bot can share a lot of interesting info about the job.

In this article, I want to share how Trengo’s chatbot can help you engage your candidates better and compel them to join your company.

What is a recruitment chatbot?

A recruitment chatbot is a computer program that simulates a conversation with a candidate by using predefined answers to predefined questions. Essentially, the recruitment chatbot is capable of providing relevant information about the job without involving a recruiter. Hence, time and energy are saved from the side of the recruiter.

What are the benefits of using a chatbot for the recruiter?

Some candidates like to apply late at night, very early in the morning, or on the weekends. Most recruiters don’t work at these times - at least, we at Trengo don’t. This means that a recruiter can’t engage a candidate at the moment that a candidate is considering applying.

Here comes our recruitment chatbot. Luckily, our robot friend is:

1. Available 24/7
2. Needs to be built only one time. Teach them once what he needs to share and let the magic begin
3. Unique. It will catch the candidate's attention, as other companies don't offer it. It shows that you are willing to go the extra mile to give the candidate all the info they need.

What are the benefits of using a recruitment chatbot for the company?

Alright, nice to hear about the recruiter, but what about us - the company paying for that chatbot? How would we benefit by having a chatbot set up? Three reasons:

1. In this tight labor market, if the candidate does not get the responses to their questions, a.s.a.p., they might never apply
2. Your recruiter is able to meet their targets faster, as the candidate’s experience is improved. That increases the chance of the candidate accepting your offer. Met targets = happy recruiter = happy company
3. Happy recruiter = retained recruiter, you don’t need to spend a lot of resources (time & money) to find, convince and hire a new recruiter.

What are the benefits of using a bot for the candidate?

Last but not least, what are the benefits for the candidate of using the recruitment chatbot? Here are the three most important ones:

1. The candidate receives answers to their questions in no time
2. The candidate learns fun and personal information about their potential team before even having their first interview
3. The candidate can get in contact with a member of the potential team

How does Trengo’s recruitment team use a chatbot for recruitment?

We have built a recruitment chatbot and attached it to our career website with the help of a website widget. You can see how that looks in the video at the top of this article.

However, before checking the video - what did Trengo put in its recruitment chatbot?

Here it comes:

1. Arguments for why the candidate should join the team. For example, you can add information about the team that the candidate will be working on
2. Provide images of the team members, little information about each team member, and ways of working within the team
3. After that, you can share examples of challenges that the potential employee will face. Make them excited about the work
4. Of course, a fun fact about the team is always good
5. What the company culture is like
6. The interview process - what steps are involved and how much time it averagely takes
7. Don’t forget to mention what career opportunities exist. Nowadays, candidates love to hear about that!
8. Lastly - ask practical questions such as phone number/email so that you to get in contact with the candidate very quickly. By getting their phone number, you can use WhatsApp via Trengo, and start, in no time, a meaningful conversation

Make sure that the recruitment chatbot is designed in an interactive manner. No need to add a question after every single line of text, but try to add a question in every 3-5 lines of text. In this way, you can keep the candidate engaged and invite them to keep clicking - i.e., keep learning about their new (potential) role.

Improve your candidate experience with the help of Trengo!

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